The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has appointed veteran filmmaker and academic Park Kwang-su as its next chairperson, taking a step closer to moving on from last year’s string of high-profile resignations.
His four-year term begins tomorrow (February 2) and can be extended for one additional term.
Park was a founding member of BIFF and the festival’s deputy director for three consecutive years from its first edition in 1996. He was also a prominent figure in the inauguration of the Pusan Promotion Plan – now titled the Asian Project Market – and the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM), as well as the founding director of the Busan Film Commission.
Park is also a film director who was among the Korean New Wave of cinema with titles such in the early 1990s including The Black Republic, Berlin Report and To The Starry Island. His drama A Single Spark played in Competition at the Berlinale in 1996.
Park replaces Lee Yong-kwan, who stepped down last year to take responsibility for a string of departures that included festival director Huh Moonyung and managing director Cho Jongkook less than four months before the 28th edition of the festival in South Korea. Oh Seok Geun, director of the ACFM, also stepped down.
The recruitment of a festival director, ACFM director, board members and auditors is ongoing, with the selection expected to be completed in March.
It will give the new appointments around six months to assemble the 29th edition of the festival, which is set to take place from October 2-11.
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